Suchergebnisse

Negative attitudes toward persons with hearing impairments adversely affect their opportunities and self-concepts. Thus, modifying such attitudes is of concern to educators and researchers. An exhaustive search of the literature yielded 12 reports of research on modifying attitudes toward persons with hearing impairments. The research results were mixed—some studies even yielded negative attitude outcomes—and the quality of the studies was not high. Of the treatments studied, properly structured contact in particular showed promise for improving attitudes toward persons with hearing impairments.

Project Validation of the Intervener Program (VIP) studied and documented the effectiveness of the Intervener Service Model which provides the services of a paraprofessional (called an intervener) to families of young children who are deaf-blind. The intervener provides auditory, visual, and tactile stimulation for the child and helps the child develop interactive behaviors instead of isolated, defensive, or self-stimulatory behaviors. The intervener also enables the parents to obtain much needed respite. Project VIP obtained abundant quantitative and qualitative data on the effectiveness of the Intervener Service Model. The data strongly support the need for Intervener Services for young children who are deaf-blind and their families.

This study focused on the hearing-screening procedures used to identify children who have hearing losses who were later enrolled in SKI*HI parent/infant programs throughout the country. Responses to a questionnaire for 1,404 children indicated that although auditory brainstem response (ABR) technology provided the lowest mean identification age, informal hearing-screening procedures (parental suspicion and referral) were the procedure of identification for 80% of the children. The data suggest that formal screening programs are not presently locating the vast majority of infants who have hearing losses. Recommendations for professional and parental education in the area of hearing-loss screening are provided.

AbstractIntroductionBoth daily and event‐driven (ED) pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) have been demonstrated to be highly effective among men who have sex with men (MSM). Prevention‐effective adherence proposes that PrEP adherence should be aligned with the risk of HIV, which could be applied to both daily and ED PrEP adherence measurement. The objective of this study was to describe the relationship between the use of PrEP and sex events among the MSM PrEP users and identify factors associated with adherence among daily and ED MSM PrEP users.MethodsA multicentre, observational, prospective cohort study was conducted at three hospital‐based clinics in three urban cities of Taiwan from January 2018 to December 2019. MSM ages 18 years or older – at high risk of HIV acquisition and taking PrEP during the study period – were included in the analysis. MSM PrEP users were allowed to choose between daily and ED PrEP based on their preference. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, mental health, sexual behaviours, substance use and PrEP‐taking behaviours were collected at each visit.ResultsA total of 374 MSM were included in the analysis with 1,054 visits. More than half (56%) of the PrEP users chose ED at the baseline and 150 regimen switches were reported by 21% of the participants. There was only one seroconversion documented during the study period. Most (84.2%) of the MSM PrEP users were able to adhere to PrEP during the most recent anal intercourse in the past one month. Among ED PrEP users with suboptimal adherence, the majority (81.9%) missed the pre‐coital dose. In the multivariable analysis, we found that participants who switched from daily to an ED dosing regimen were associated with poorer adherence to PrEP.ConclusionsA high level of PrEP adherence was observed among the majority of MSM in a real‐world setting. On the other hand, Taiwanese MSM switching from daily to ED dosing regimens were less likely to adhere to PrEP, suggesting that novel approaches focusing on a dosing switch would be necessary for MSM to improve their adherence to PrEP.

AbstractIntroductionWhile various antiretrovirals have been studied as potential candidates for long‐acting pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the bimonthly injectable cabotegravir—the first long‐acting form of PrEP—was approved in 2021. Event‐driven (ED) PrEP has been the most prevalent dosing regimen among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Taiwan, providing a unique setting to observe the preferences for long‐acting PrEP in a community where the daily regimen is not the mainstream method. This study aimed to determine the preferences for the different forms and dosing intervals of long‐acting PrEP that are currently in the development pipeline.MethodsWe conducted a survey in 2021 by convenience sampling the users of social networking applications for GBMSM in Taiwan. Our survey included questions on sexual behaviours, current PrEP regimens and the preferences for potential candidates of long‐acting PrEP, such as implants, intramuscular and subcutaneous injections. We compared the Likert‐scale preference ratings for potential long‐acting options, and conducted logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with a preference for bimonthly intramuscular injections (2M IM) over ED and daily PrEP regimens, respectively.ResultsA total of 1728 responses were eligible for analysis. Three percent of respondents (n = 52) were daily PrEP users; 11.5% (n = 198) were ED PrEP users. When not considering cost, current PrEP users—regardless of their original dosing regimen—were most likely to express preferences for monthly oral PrEP, followed by a 6‐month subcutaneous injectable (6M SC) and 2M IM. However, among non‐current PrEP users, monthly oral PrEP was the most preferred form, followed by ED, daily oral and 6M SC injectable. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that current daily users, those willing to take PrEP in the next 6 months and those with more sex partners in the last 12 months had a significant correlation with preferences for the 2M IM injectable over the ED PrEP.ConclusionsThe monthly oral form was the most preferable long‐acting PrEP among GBMSM in Taiwan. Current daily PrEP users preferred the 2M IM injectable over the ED PrEP, which made the 2M IM injectable a potential alternative. Further studies should focus on how the cost and delivery affect PrEP preferences and their actual uptake.

Taiwan has been successful in controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, without a vaccine the threat of a second outbreak remains. Young adults who show few to no symptoms when infected have been identified in many countries as driving the virus' spread through unidentifiable community transmission. Mobile tracking technologies register nearby contacts of a user and notifies them if one later tests positive to the virus, potentially solving this issue; however, the effectiveness of these technologies depends on their acceptance by the public. The current study assessed attitudes towards three tracking technologies (telecommunication network tracking, a government app, and Apple and Google's Bluetooth exposure notification system) among four samples of young Taiwanese adults (aged 25 years or younger). Using Bayesian methods, we find high acceptance for all three tracking technologies (>75%), with acceptance for each technology surpassing 90% if additional privacy measures were included. We consider the policy implications of these results for Taiwan and similar cultures.